Jomel Duldulao, the O‘ahu Ombudsman, and Lynn Niitani, the Volunteer Coordinator, attend one of many fairs to inform the public of services available.
Since its establishment in 1975, the Hawaiʻi Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTCO) Program has tirelessly protected the health, safety, welfare, and dignity of nearly 13,000 of Hawaiʻi’s most frail and dependent individuals living in Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities.
In Hawaiʻi, there are five types of facilities licensed or certified to provide LTC service. It can be challenging to navigate, but Ombudsmen help via phone, email or in-person consultations to evaluate the situation and provide invaluable information to assist those who will be impacted by the LTC service they select.
Certified Ombudsmen also conduct visits with residents and family members to identify service-related concerns and work with LTC service staff to investigate and resolve issues that impact residents’ quality of care. Ombudsmen also have the ability to refer cases to police, adult protective services, and Office of Health Care Assurance, when appropriate. LTCO is just one of the services provided at no cost to the public from the Executive Office on Aging (EOA). To learn more about EOA and the programs it offers, visit health. hawaii.gov/eoa.